What makes a good sub-seeder?

What is a Sub-Seeder?
So, for those who may not know, a sub-seeder is a pokemon who uses both the moves "Substitute" and "Leech Seed" to work together. It is generally seen as an 'annoyer' tactic, forcing switches, making certain pokemon last longer, or killing Annoying, High-HP Walls [e.g. blissey, cresselia].

Who are the Sub-Seeders?
First off, if we take a look at all the pokes who can use sub-seed, we have:

venusaur, exeggutor, meganium, jumpluff, sunflora, celebi, sceptile, ludicolo, shiftry, breloom, roserade, cacturne, tropius, torterra, cherrim, carnivine, abomasnow, tangrowth, shaymin, smeargle.

Out of those listed:

jumpluff, sunflora, celebi, sceptile, breloom, roserade, cacturne, torterra, carnivine, abomasnow, Ludicolo, tangrowth and shaymin have sub-seed mentioned in the analysis.

It's relatively hard to find a common link between these and why they have been mentioned as sub-seeders [Not including the fact they're grass types and they can learn the 2 moves]. Most of them seem to fall into different categories of usage and tier. Despite this, I think they can be categorised into the following groups:

Speedy
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Pros: Quick use of substitute to scout and protect against opposing attacks.
Have a chance to sweep late-game.
More EVs can go into HP/Attacks because they already outspeed certain threats.
Can get in subs before status ruins them.

Cons: Can't take repeated hits.
High speed stat Could be better-used for sweeping.
Once shown, the strategy is obvious, and thier lack of bulk means they can be disposed of fairly quickly

Bulky
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Pros: Can take hits if they're not faster.
Constant hp-replenishing makes them last a-g-e-s.
They don't Always have better things to do.
Can take hits even when strategy is revealed.
Many can employ various statuses

Cons: Lack of speed can mean heavy investments of EVs are required
Status can be fired off before they can sub.
lack of hitting power may mean they become useless if the sub-seeding doesn't work.

Those with other substitute-related strategies
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[Note: The main thing to do is "Focus Punch"]

(Yeah, I couldn't think of a condensed name)

Pros: They aren't useless if the opponant can't be seeded.
They can do stuff after the opponant is seeded.
Sub-Seed sets aren't necessarily one-trick-ponies.

Cons: Generally slow at getting in subs.
Having the sub up is usually a necessity.
EVs have to be split between HP, Atk and Speed.

And then we have sunflora, who was mentioned as a "novelty" sub-seeder. Sunflora doesn't really fit into one of these categories.

So, now that we've taken a look at them, we can hopefully move onto the main discussion point:

The Main Discussion
So, the main question at hand:

What Makes A Good Sub-Seeder?

Does it have to be fast? Should it be bulky? Should a sub-seeder do things other than sub seed, or concentrate on its main goal?

Which do YOU think is the key factor?

I myself prefer my sub-seeders to be nice and bulky, so they can take hits if leech seed misses, and they can take a few hits to make the seeds actually useful. However, flaws come with the lack of speed and the fact that a stall war could break out.

The analysis seems to put speed above all when it comes to sub-seeders. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks and whether I'm getting the wrong end of the stick :D

Also, as a kinda sub-discussion point:

Why are sub-seeders used?

How do YOU use YOURS?

The only uses I myself see are draining walls with high HP, being annoying, baton passing chains or forcing switches in stall team with Spikes/SR/ToxicSpikes.

So, Discuss :D
 
Just so you know, Sceptile can Focus Punch, also, so it would fall under the "Things who can do stuff behind subs" list. Also, I disagree to the name. Technically, everything can do something behind a sub, so why not rename it as "Pokémon with Other Substitute Strategies" or something related?
The Ludicolo analysis said:
The Substitute/Leech Seed combination is another possibility, but is not well supported by poor initial Speed.
Ludicolo also has SubSeed mentioned in its analysis, and, with Rain support, it can obtain great Speed, and have enough EVs left for defenses. Plus, that mutant Mexican Sombrero Pineapple Duck thing looks fucking awesome.
 
I usually don't try to deploy my Sub-seeder unless I have a good chance of forcing a switch. I guess I'm not all that great with Sub-seeding lol.

Sub-Seeders with Protect are especially annoying, but Protect usually takes up a spot for another -possibly better- move. I guess Bulkier Seeders can make good use of it.
 
@Mike: Ta for the heads-up on ludicolo. I musta missed him =) I've changed the name too. I'm unsure on Sceptile, IMO It fits more in with the speedy group. Focus punch doesn't cover much, and it does better with the analysis sets [x-scissor/HP fire/HP ice and grass knot/leaf blade]

@Aeroblacktyl: Erm, I said Sub-seeding was annoying, not the only way to annoy...
 
I think 101 HP subs make a good sub-seeder.

^_^

Vileplume can sub-seed, why isn't it on the list? It can sludge bomb anything immune to leech seed.
 
Celebi should also be mentioned under "fast sub-seeders". After all, the sub-seed celebi in the analysis is faster than Roserade.
 
IMO, A good subseeder has to have something to hit the pokemon which resist it. This makes Abomasnow a pretty good one since it can hit Grass types with Blizzard, has Hail to negate opponents leftovers and such.

I prefer my Subseeders to be generally more bulky than speedy though. May favourites are Celebi, Breloom and Abomasnow.
 
@seds: I used serebii's moveset calculator. Stupid thing musta missed vileplume. I'll add vileplume when I get back on the computer (I'm on the wii currently.)

@umbarsc: Celebis tend to be EVd bulkily, rather than to sweep. The same can be said for shaymin (barring the growingly-popular specs set)

Again, I'll change tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice/corrections =)
 
I personally think that shaymin is the best sub seeder. With 100/100/100 Defenses it can take a few hits while it sets up. It can make 101 Subs, Base 100 speed is not to shabby either, and Natural Cure means its not crippled if it gets statused. I use a Bold 252 HP, 252 Def, 6 Spd Toxic/ Sub/ Leech Seed/ protect one on most of my shoddy teams. What it lacks in attack moves it makes up for in pure annoyance.

Edit
Shaymin can also at stall all of the usual stallers (Blissey, Cresselia) With toxic +leech seed damage. The only thing that stops it is Taunt and an opponent with a faster substitute user.

And to answer the actual question, I think bulkyness is better than speed since a sub seeder should be staying in for a while, and the ability to survive a hit without a sub means you can outlast multiple pokemon.
 
Ever since my Sceptile soloed a Registeel and Heatran (for the most part, I believe they were slightly weakened beforehand), he's been my favorite.

The only thing he did that Celebi/Shaymin couldn't (who would be my second choices) is also outspeed and solo an Infernape. Granted that was only because I had the sub up prior to Infernape coming in, but still.
 
Venusaur deserves a spot in the bulky seeder section

Not only that he does a decent job in sub seeding, he can also eat Toxic Spikes
 
I like Breloom. It can absorb toxic spikes (if you have poison heal), which, accompanied with leech seed, can restore around 25% of your health each turn. That's the equivalent of one Sub, so the process just repeats itself. It's also an offensive powerhouse and can focus punch and seed bomb anything. I always have one on my team. They work really well.
 
Ludicolo is my favorite due to the versatility it can offer. You can throw in Toxic and Protect along with Sub-seed and really annoy the opponent to death as they can't get a decent hit in.. Ludicolo also has an advantage in that it has good attacking options so that it can do more then sub seed. It can learn an Ice beam to stop opposing grass types that might try to switch in to stop your substitute. It has great stab in Surf, Grass Knot, and Energy Ball. Ludicolo also takes hits pretty well with it's defenses and typing.
 
Tangrowth has worked wonders for me in the past as a sub seeder. With 404 HP, 101 subs are sturdy and can take a stoss. Leech seed is always nice for recovery and to cause a switch or to be annoying. With my tangrowth I also ran giga drain, so it was a sub seeding drainer + leftovers which is really frustrating and by the time tangrowth was set up a sub or two the opponent was already dead from giga drain or leech seed.
 
Okay, After some thought, Celebi belongs in all 3 categories. It has bulk, It has 100 base speed, and it can use calm mind+baton pass while behind subs.

Shaymin has been moved to the speed group for the same reason.

Vileplume has been added as it has sub-seed mentioned on the analysis.

And lastly, thanks for all of your responses :D
 
Once shown, the strategy is obvious, and thier lack of bulk means they can be disposed of fairly quickly

I disagree, Subseeders are a pain to take down. It may be obvious that once you see "hey Leech Seed and Substitute, I know your strategy boy: YOU ARE USING SUBSEED", but you can't really do anything about it if you are being drained nonetheless. Nothing you couldn't have done about that Grass type anyway.
 
Out of curiosity, do sub-seeders prefer higher hp, or a lower base? I've asked a few people, and everyone seems to have different opinions on it.
 
Can Carnivine really be called "bulky"?

Even by UU standards base 74 HP, 72 Def and 72 SpD falls below the level of mediocrity set by Glalie, who I've never seen described as bulky ...

Add to that poor typing and terrible speed, would he even be able to start sub-seeding?
 
@Mekkah: Tentacruel and other grass types can be switched in as the user's movepool won't be able to do heavy damage, due to focus going on sub-seeding. Agreeingly, they're not going to become useless, as a relevant counter is required.

@Evil Hamster: I prefer higher HP, but I prefer bulkier sub-seeders. Lower base on the speedier ones would mean that they would recover a higher overall percentage, and therefore reach subbing HP quicker.

ODDish: My carnivine can take hits, it took a flamethrower from my azelf anyway... It's the best group for it anyway. He has switch ins on any choiced EQs/EPs. His double powders also help.
 
I was thinking about sub seeders earlier today funnily enough, I was thinking about a subseed team in tandem with Toxic spikes support.
 
Out of curiosity, do sub-seeders prefer higher hp, or a lower base? I've asked a few people, and everyone seems to have different opinions on it.

The ideal subseeder would be one with very low HP, and very high defenses and speed. Very low HP means high amounts of HP restored per turn, while the high defenses prevent it from being fragile. High speed isn't actually necessary, but would be ideal to prevent statuses.

Just think of what would happen if Shuckle got subseed: The thing would NEVER die! Well, not until he consumed all the sub PP, anyway.

In fact... Deoxys D with subseed would be even worse: not only it would pack the low HP+high defenses combo, but it would also get high speed to avoid status. That thing would be really frightening.
 
It sucks that Smeargle is the only sub-seeder to get Taunt :( Being able to stop Pokes healing, as well as stopping opposing Taunters who tend to shut sub-seeders down, it would be fun. Same goes for Mean Look.
 
subseeding is harder to pull off due to all the sand (and loom is too slow)
i prefer seed+uturn with celebi as it acts as phaze and you get to scout their switch!
i use

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 240 HP/176 Def/16 Spd/76 SDef
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- U-turn
- Leech Seed
- Recover
- Grass Knot
 
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